Surgical furniture



Aug. 6, 1963 R. T. ADOLPHSON SURGICAL FURNITURE 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Aug. 21, 1961 INVENTOR. ROY T ADOLPHSON ATTORNEY Aug. 6, 1963 R. T. ADOLPHSON SURGI CAL FURN I TURE 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Aug. 21, 1961 ATTORNEY 1963 R. T. ADOLPHSON 3,100,129

SURGICAL FURNITURE Filed Aug. 21, 1961 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 INVENTOR. ROY T. ADOLPHSON ATTORNEY United States Patent 3,100,129 SURGICAL FURE Roy T. Adolphson, Webster Groves, Mo., assignor to Shampaine Industries, Inc, St. Louis, Mo., a corporation of Missouri Filed Aug. 21, 1961, Ser. No. 132,659 7 Claims. (til. 29743tl) This invention relates in general to certain new and useful improvements in surgical furniture and, more particularly, to a disappearing stirrup adapted for use with physicians examining chairs, operating tables, examining tables, and the like.

In the course of conducting a physical examination or carrying out minor surgical techniques, it is frequently necessary for the physician or surgeon to place the patient i-n a position in which the feet and legs are elevated and held in a somewhat spread-apart position. This is particularly true in the case of pelvic examinations, which are routinely carried out by obstetricians, and other similar examinations for related gynecological purposes. Such elevation and support of the feet and legs of the patient are often required in certain types of urological procedures. In fact, there are many diagnostic and surgical situations in which it is necessary to support the feet and legs of the patient in this manner. To meet this need, it is a common practice to use extended devices commonly referred to as stirrups.

Obviously, stirrups are not needed for many diagnostic and surgical procedures and would, in fact, be a hinderance or interference if permanently mounted in a fixed position. Not only is it necessary for the stirrup to be adjustable so that it can be adapted to fit various patients, but it is also necessary that the stirrup be mounted in such a manner that it can be moved completely out of the way whenever it is not being used. In the older types of tables which have been in use for many years, it was necessary to slip the stirrup into a fixed socket and tighten it in place by means of a set screw whenever a stirrup was required.

The completely removable type of stirrup, however, is inconvenient since it must be stored away during periods of non-use. Moreover, some lost time and inconvenience is involved each time it is necessary to mount the stirrups on the chair or table. There are also some types of stirrups which can be swung from a concealed position beneath the chair or table into operative position when desired. The stirrups of this type which are presently available, however, are not particularly strong or rigid.

It is, therefore, the primary object of the present invention to provide a stirrup for use with physicians examining chairs, examining tables, and the like, and can be shifted into completely concealed position beneath the table or pushed out into operative position in a simple convenient manner.

It is another object of the present invention to provide devices of the type stated which, when in operative position, will form an extremely secure rigid support for the feet of the patient.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a foot stirrup of the type stated which can be easily and quickly adjusted to various positions and various lengths to accommodate the needs of various patients.

It is also an object of the present invention to provide a foot stirrup of the type stated which can be conveniently adjusted from side to side to meet the needs of different patients.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a foot stirrup of the type stated which, when in operative position, is extremely strong and will afford a stable, rigid support for the feet and legs of the patient.

With the above and other objects in view, my invention resides in the novel features of form, construction,

arrangement, and combination of parts presently described and pointed out in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings (three sheets) FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a physicians examining chair equipped with disappearing stirrups constructed in accordance with and embodying the present invention;

FIGS. 2 and 3 are fragmentary sectional views taken along lines 2-2 and 33, respectively, of FIG. 1;

FIGS. 4, 5, 6, and 7, are fragmentary perspective views of the disappearing stirrup showing various successive positions which the stirrup will assume as it is being moved from completely concealed position to operative position;

FIG. 8 is a fragmentary sectional view taken along line 88 of FIG. 3; and

FIG. 9 is a fragmentary sectional view taken along line 9'-9 of FIG. 8.

Referring now in more detail and by reference characters to the drawings which illustrate a preferred embodiment of the present invent-ion, A designates a physicians examining chair comprised generally of a base 1 having a hydraulic pedestal 2 which operatively supports a hollow seat-section 3 consisting of a fiat underface 4 and an upholstered shell 5 having a relatively fiat top or seating surface 6-, a front face 7, a rear face 8-, and side faces 9, 10. Swingably mounted across the lower margin of the front face 7 is a leg-section 11 having side rails 12 which shiftably support a forwardly projecting foot rest 13. Similarly mounted upon the rear face 8 is a back-section 14 provided at its upper end with a head rest 15. Rigidly secured to and extending horizontally along the side faces 9, 10, are brackets 16 for supporting upstanding arm rests 17, 18.

The front face 7 of the seat-section 3- is provided with two rectangular apertures 19, 20, which are located adjacent to the forward corners and rigidly mounted upon the base plate 4 directly to the rear of the apertures 19, 20, are brackets 21, 22, cast, or otherwise suitably formed from suitable metal, such as brass, steel, or the like. The brackets 21, 22, are substantially similar in construction except that they are respectively right-handed and lefthanded structures, so to speak, being used on the right and left forward corners of the chair A. It is, therefore, only necessary to describe one such structure in detail.

The bracket 21 integrally includes a horizontal base portion 23 integrally provided along its longitudinal margins with upstanding rectangular flanges 24-, 25, which are provided with suitable apertures 26 for the reception of screws by which the bracket 21 is rigidly secured into the table structure. The base portion 23- is centrally provided with a downwardly extended or thickened portion 27, the upper face of which is cut away in the form of a longitudinally extending slots having a somewhat cylindrical socket 28, the bottom of which extends downwardly beyond the bottom wall 29 of the slot .5 and opens through a circular aperture 3% upon the underface 31 of the base portion 23-. Along its forward margin, the slot s is provided with a plurality of spaced upstanding bosses b which are radial with respect to the socket 28 and, in effect, define flat bottomed rgrooves g g g the bottom portion of which is actually the upwardly presented surface of the slots. As will be seen by reference to FIG. 3, the underface 31 of the base portion 23- is oifset upwardly from the bottom plane of the bracket 21 so as to provide mechanical clearance. The slot s, furthermore, is provided with two straight parallel side walls 32, 33, which respectively extend inwardly from the forward margin of the base portion 23 to the socket 28 and from the socket 28 to the rear margin of the base portion 23. As will be seen by reference to FIG. 2, the slot side walls 3-2, 33-, are spaced equidistantly on opposite sides of the center of the socket 28-. The slot s is also provided with oblique side walls 34,

35-, which extend from the socket 28 outwardly to the forward and rear margins, respectively, of the base portion 23. These slot side walls 34, 35, are parallel to each other and are similarly spaced equidistantly on opposite sides of the center of the socket 28.

Rotatably mounted in the aperture 30 is a swivel member 36, the upper end of which is diametrally reduced in the provision of an upstanding post-like portion 37 which is slightly smaller in diametral size than the socket 28 and is diametrally slotted as at 38 for slidably accommodating a horizontal stirrup-bar 39' which is milled off or beveled to fit within any one of the grooves g g g but is free to slide lengthwise therealong. In this connection, it should be noted that the stirrup bar 3 9 fits somewhat loosely within the slot 38 so that there is some clearance and the stirrup-bar 39 can be swung upwardly enough to permit re-positioning in any one of the grooves g g g At its interior end, the stirrup-bar 3-9 is provided with a set screw 40 to prevent unauthorized withdrawal of the stirrup-bar 39 from the slot 3-8. It will be noted by reference to FIG. 3 that the lower longitudinal margin of the stirrup-bar 39 rides slidably upon the bottom wall 29 of the slot s on either side of the post 37 so as to have a relatively broad base line of contact within the slot s and thus, be precluded from rocking movement in the vertical direction. In other words, by the manner of retention and support of the stirrup-bar 39 within the slot 38 and upon the bottom wall 29 of the slot s, the stirrup-bar 39 is free to slide to-and-fro, but is, nevertheless, extremely stable in any horizontal position to which it is shifted.

Pinned upon the outer end of the stirrup-bar 39 is a terminal fitting 41 having a pair of spaced parallel ears 42, 43, which straddle the end of the stirrup-bar 39 and form a bifurcation or slot 44 for rockably receiving a stirrup-shank 45 pivotally held between the ears 42, 43, by means of a pivot screw 46. At, its upper end, the stirrup-shank 45 is integrally provided with a conventionally shaped foot-stirrup 47.

Formed integrally with the terminal fitting 41 and extending vertically across the forward end thereof is a face plate 48 which is disposed equidistantly upon opposite sides of the ears 42, 43, in T-shaped fashion and is sized to fit within the apertures 19, 20, of the seat-section 3.

In use, the foot-stirrup 47 and its associated stirrupshank 45 may be swung rearwardly and downwardly into overlying relation upon the stirrup-bar 39 to the position shown in FIGS. 4 and 5. In this position, the stirrupshank 45, by reason of its tapered shape and the further fact that it is provided at its lower end with a boss 49, will rest in upwardly spaced relation to the longitudinal top margin of the stirrup-bar '39 so as to clear the flat top face of the post 37. In this position, the stirrup-bar 39 can be positioned inwardly in relation to the post 37 so as to be housed entirely within the seat-section 3, as shown in FIG. 4.

Whenever the physician desires to use the foot-stirrup 47, the face plate 48 may be manually grasped and pulled outwardly in the direction of the arrow as shown in FIG. and the foot-stirrup 47 swung upwardly to the position shown in FIG. 6. Thereupon, the stirrup-bar 39 can be left in fully extended position or it can be shifted inwardly to accommodate a patient with shorter legs or a child, as the case may be. Moreover, the stirrup-bar 39 can be swung laterally to the extreme angular position shown in FIG. 7 or to any intermediate angular position and, in such angular positions, the stirrup-bar 39* can be shifted inwardly and outwardly with respect to the post 37, which rotates within the socket 28 as the angular adjustment of the stirrup-bar 39 is effected.

Preferably, though not necessarily, the bracket 21 is provided on its underface with a retainer-plate 50 which extends across the underface of the swivel member 36 and is marginally welded or otherwise secured to the underface 31 of the bracket 21 so as to prevent any tendency on the part of the post 37 to slip downwardly with respect to the aperture 30. This will, in eiiect, relieve any unnecessary friction or wear on the longitudinal bottom margin of the stirrup-bar 39.

It should be understood that changes and modifications in the form, construction, arrangement, and combination of the several parts of the surgical furniture may be made and substituted for those herein shown and described without departing from the nature and principle of my invention.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A foot-support for physicans examining chairs, operating tables and the like; said support comprising a base member having an elongated open-ended recess, a central member rotatably mounted within the recess for rotation about an axis which is in substantially perpendicular relation to the longitudinal axis of said recess, said central member having an elongated slot substantially in line with the recess, on elongated support-member shiftably mounted in the slot and projecting outwardly from the slot at one end, and a stirrup rockably mounted on the projecting end of the support-member.

2. A foot-support for physicians examining chairs, operating tables and this like; said support comprising a base-member having an elongated open-ended recess, a central member rotatably mounted within the recess for rotation about an axis which is in substantially perpendicular relation to the longitudinal axis of said recess, said central member having an elongated slot substantially in line with the recess, an elongated support-member shiftably mounted in the slot and projecting outwardly from the slot at one end, said uspport-member being substantially narrower than the recess so as to be capable of limited lateral swinging movement within the recess, and a stirrup rockably mounted on the projecting end of the support-member.

3. A foot-support for physicians examining chairs, operating tables and the like; said support comprising a basemember having an elongated open-ended recess, a centnal member rotatably mounted within the recess for rotation about an axis which is in substantially perpendicular relation to the longitudinal axis of said recess, said central member having an elongated slot substantially in line with the recess, an elongated support-member shiftably mounted in the slot and projecting outwardly from the slot at one end, said support-member being substantially narrower than the recess so as to be capable of swinging movement within the recess, and a stirrup rockably mounted on the projecting end of the support-member, said recess being provided with inwardly presented abutment means for limiting the swinging movement of the support-member.

4. A footasupport for physicians examining chairs, operating tables and the like; said support comprising a basemember having an elongated open-ended horizontal recess including a central socket having outwardly radiating slots on opposite sides thereof, said slots having side walls which diverge so that the outer ends of said slots are relatively wide as compared with the inner ends thereof, a vertical swivel post rotatably mounted in the base and extending upwardly through the central socket, said post being, adapted to swivel about a vertical axis within the central: socket and having an elongated horizontal slot substantially in line with the recess, an elongated support-member slidably mounted in the last-named slot and being substantially narrower than the recess so as to be laterally swingable therein upon attendant rotation of the post, and a foot stirrup mounted on the outer end of the supportmember.

5. A foot-support for physicians examining chairs, operating tables and the like; said support comprising a base-member having an elongated open-ended horizontal recess including a central socket having outwardly radiating slots on opposite sides thereof, said slots having side walls which diverge so that the outer ends of said slots are relatively wide as compared with the inner ends thereof, a vertical swivel post rotatably mounted in the base and extending upwardly through the central socket for rotation about a substantially vertical axis, said post having an elongated horizontal slot substantially in line with the recess, an elongated support-member slidably mounted in the last-named slot and being substantially narrower than the recess so as to be laterally swingable therein upon attendant rotation of the post, a foot stirrup mounted on the outer end of the support-member, and stop-forming means on the stirrup and support-member for cooperatively holding the stirrup in a selected position with respect to the support-member.

6. A foot-support for physicians examining chairs, operating tables and the like; said support comprising a basemember having an elongated open-ended horizontal recess including a central socket and outwardly extending portions, the side walls of which diverge so that the outer ends of said portions are relatively wide as compared with the inner ends thereof, a vertical swivel post rotatably mounted in the base and extending upwardly through the central socket, said post having an elongated horizontal slot substantially in line with the recess, an elongated support-member slida-bly mounted in the slot and being substantially narrower than the recess so vas to be laterally swinga-ble therein with attendant rotation of the post, a plurality of upstanding bosses formed on the bottom Wall of said recess for defining spaced grooves in which the support-member may optionally rest so as to he positionably in one of several diiferent angular positions, an upstanding abutment on the projecting end of the supportmember, and a foot stirrup mounted on the outer end of the support-member inwardly with respect to the abutment and being adapted to swing upwardly 'OVlCI' center and rest in upwardly and outwardly inclined position againts said abutment.

7. A foot-support for physicians examining chairs, operating tables and the like, according to claim 61 and further having :a transversely extending plate-like member rigidly carried b-y the outer end of the support member for affording hand-grip means by which the support-member may be shifted longitudinally along the slot.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 490,540 Case Jan. 24, 1893 2,679,445 Roehm May 25, 1954 2,714,541 Reichert et a1 Aug. 2, 1955 2,804,363 Spielberg Aug. 27, 1957 

1. A FOOT-SUPPORT FOR PHYSICANS'' EXAMINING CHAIRS, OPERATING TABLES AND THE LIKE; SAID SUPPORT COMPRISING A BASE MEMBER HAVING AN ELONGATED OPEN-ENDED RECESS, A CENTRAL MEMBER ROTATABLY MOUNTED WITHIN THE RECESS FOR ROTATION ABOUT AN AXIS WHICH IS IN SUBSTANTIALLY PERPENDICULAR RELATION TO THE LONGITUDINAL AXIS OF SAID RECESS, SAID CENTRAL MEMBER HAVING AN ELONGATED SLOT SUBSTANTIALLY IN LINE WITH THE RECESS, ON ELONGATED SUPPORT-MEMBER SHIFTABLY MOUNTED IN THE SLOT AND PROJECTING OUTWARDLY FROM THE SLOT AT ONE END, AND A STIRRUP ROCKABLY MOUNTED ON THE PROJECTING END OF THE SUPPORT-MEMBER. 